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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29737068">Ship Wars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsofaboy/pseuds/wingsofaboy'>wingsofaboy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, I don't know how to tag tame stuff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Multi, Not Canon Compliant - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, This is all very deep and meta except not really, attempts at humor were made</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:54:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29737068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingsofaboy/pseuds/wingsofaboy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Lieutenant Boimler spoke again: “This is really the only kind of information we could gather from them in the past few days.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i>“What are you talking about?” An idea had hatched and slithered up to his brain. “Any and all information about the girl is vital for the Supreme Leader. Actually, he should have been informed of this long ago.”</i></p><p> </p><p>Or, a war is going on to decide the fate of the galaxy, while another war threatens to divide the two factions from the inside...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Finn/Rey (Star Wars), Poe Dameron/Finn, Poe Dameron/Finn/Rey, Poe Dameron/Rey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Armitage Hux</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the COW-T challenge @ landedifandom. Week 3, Mission 2, prompt Guerre spaziali (space wars).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The doors slid close, and Hux allowed himself to roll his shoulders. Hands folded behind his back, he took a couple of steps into the room, careful not to stumble over the debris scattered on the floor. He stared at a small hole burned in the ground with his brows knit closer and then moved over, walked up to the center of the chamber, and took a good look around.</p>
<p>Exposed wires hang from the ceiling, droplets of electricity sparked and fell on the floor not too far from the tip of his boots. Stains of ash were smeared on the whole length of the wall at his right; what had happened to the left side, he didn't wanna dwell on. The only thing that wasn't wrecked beyond repairs appeared to be the colossal throne, solid and shiny, so out of place among the destruction surrounding it. </p>
<p>He rubbed his eyes; his head was aching like crazy. The throne room and the bridge were supposed to be the first on schedule for repairs, and the teams of technicians were almost ready to start; Ren was eager to take his place as Supreme Leader soon, and everything on the Supremacy had to be running smoothly by then.</p>
<p>He looked at the throne again, teeth sinking in his bottom lip. He was supposed to sit there. He hadn't worked so hard within the First Order to see his place being stolen by a hot-headed man child prone to temper tantrums. What with the order and discipline, then?</p>
<p>He should have pulled the trigger back then.</p>
<p>A whooshing sound echoed behind him, and he fixed his stance and expression in time when the young official reached his side and walked in front of him.</p>
<p>“General Hux,” he saluted, and Hux nodded in his direction.</p>
<p>“Lieutenant Boimler. What is it?”</p>
<p>“News, sir. About <i>the girl</i>.” He pulled out a datapad from his back and handed it to him. Hux took it from his hand and straightened it so the lines of text were no longer upside down.</p>
<p>Right. The girl. <i>What an impressive character</i>, he thought. Lured in as a prisoner, she was able to run free, taking Leader Snoke's life with her in the process. Not the Imperial Guards, not even Kylo Ren had been able to defeat her. So strong and fierce. Alone among enemies, she was able to bring the First Order summit to its knees all on her own.</p>
<p>The corner of his lip twitched. He wouldn't have believed this was the real chain of events even if he hadn't seen the recordings from that day, and couldn't understand how anyone would, either. But that was the story Ren had chosen to go with, and rumors were always faster to spread than the truth.</p>
<p>Fine. For the time being, he could pretend, too, that a nameless scavenger girl was the greatest menace the First Order had to fight to destroy the Resistance. He might even find a way to turn all of this to his advantage, sooner or later. He couldn't underestimate Ren's ability to betray himself.</p>
<p>Lieutenant Boimler stretched his neck when Hux hid a small laugh in a cough.</p>
<p>The weight of the datapad reminded Hux of its presence and he lowered his gaze to read the report. It wasn't heavy on content, and Hux went over it twice before he fixed his gaze back on Boimler.</p>
<p>The Lieutenant was looking everywhere but his direction, and he was jerking his hands and fixing that long tuft of hair that fell on his eyes with harsh movements. He looked thinner and paler and more pathetic than he already was.</p>
<p>Hux shoved the datapad in his chest, and turned on his left. He couldn't bare the sight of him. “You've been tracking the Resistance for weeks, and instead of finding out in which sewer they had crawled into, this is what you managed to discover?”</p>
<p>Lieutenant Boimler squirmed. “Apologies, sir. The communications of the Resistance are mostly encrypted...”<br/>Hux looked up. Electricity was still sparkling among the wires on the ceiling. It would be nice if everything caught fire right about now.</p>
<p>Lieutenant Boimler spoke again: “This is really the only kind of information we could gather from them in the past few days.”</p>
<p>Hux exhaled slowly. His temples were shrinking around his brain, his eyes threatening to pop out from his skull. He fixed his gloves around his wrists when the temptation to bury his face in his hands became too strong.</p>
<p>This was beyond unfair. Why did he have to suffer like this alone? He was about to tell Lieutenant Boimler to disappear from his sight when his shrilling voice drilled in his ears again: “We're mortified we don't have anything more valuable for the Supreme Leader...”</p>
<p>The mention of Kylo Ren stung somewhere deep inside, and he gritted his teeth. He was subjected with this nonsense on a daily basis, and this rat worried about having something of value to show to the <i>Supreme Leader</i>. As if he cared. For all that was worth it, they could submerge Ren with the most ridiculous and irrelevant rubbish they found throughout the galaxy, all day long, forever.</p>
<p>Hux raised both eyebrows. <i>They probably should.</i></p>
<p>“What are you talking about?” An idea had hatched and slithered up to his brain. “Any and all information about the girl is vital for the Supreme Leader. Actually, he should have been informed of this long ago.” He turned to look the Lieutenant up and down, a scowl on his lips. “From now on, any and all information regarding Snoke's murderer have to be forwarded directly to the Supreme Leader, with no exception. <i>Nothing</i> is to be considered irrelevant.”</p>
<p>Lieutenant Boimler blinked three of four times, his stare going from Hux to the pad and then back to him. “Yes, sir?”</p>
<p>“These are your orders. Dismissed.”</p>
<p>Lieutenant Boimler saluted him, his “Yes, sir!” sounding more convinced. He left with a quick step, working on his datapad, probably already informing his fellow officials of the newest dispositions.</p>
<p>Hux stretched his lips in a smile. He might have to suffer, but he will drag Ren with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Rose Tico</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The engine roared alive. The rumble echoed in the cockpit for about five seconds, buttons and screens sent out flashes of light, and then it died with a snap and a crash, smoke erupting form the cables.</p>
<p>Rose stripped away the visor from her face and threw it to the side. “Fuck this shit.” She sat back and used a stained sleeve to wipe the sweat away from her forehead and her chin. When she folded her legs under her body her knees hurt from having to stay in the same position for hours, and the shirt stuck to her back felt drenched and disgusting.</p>
<p>She was starting to miss fresh air, a shower, and machinery that wouldn't break down every time she tried to make it work. She fidgeted with the tool in her hand. Last week had taught her that slamming wrenches against control systems old of decades was rowdy and counter-productive, but who knew. This time it could work.</p>
<p>She dropped the tool in her lap and used her palms to massage her eyes, all while she did her best to take deep breaths and not suffocate in the meantime.</p>
<p>Truth was that at this point they had no room for being choosy.</p>
<p>There were worse places to hide than an unknown moon on the outer rim, and a month's worth of work had made the old Repubblican base operative again. Moreover in the depth of the hangars they had managed to find a bunch of relics from the war, dusty aircrafts and shipwars that, with a bit of maintenance, could come in handy to fight the rise of the First Order.</p>
<p>They hadn't lost yet. The Resistance may have lacked manpower and resources for now, but they had friends and allies reaching them from the farthest sides of the galaxy. Each new day brought in new intelligence and new ships, often hand in hand together. </p>
<p>Hope still flared up. Too bad circuits kept doing it, too.</p>
<p>Rose grabbed the visor behind her back where it had rolled, and dropped it on her head again. “Back to work.” Maybe the problem was with the power supply; these rusty cables weren't built to last. She stretched beneath the panels and tinkered with wires, fixed them so that the current could run with no hitches.</p>
<p>She revved the engine once, twice. Nothing. She tried a third time, and the smoke that erupted from the controls pushed her outside the cockpit, on the bare floor of the hangar. “Fucking mother of a motherfucking diagona...”</p>
<p>She dropped the visor and the wrench, eyes foggy with tears. She hid her face in her elbow, struggling to even her breaths. Today had been hell. The old piece of junk stayed dead despite all her efforts, and the buzzing from all the other mechanics around her was starting to get on her nerves. If they all could just shut up.</p>
<p>“You go if you want, I'm not talking to Ransom.”</p>
<p>Rose turned to her right. The pilot who had shouted was standing under the belly of an X-wing, her sleeves rolled up and her hands on her hips. In front of her, the mechanic she was talking to raised an eyebrow over his bionic eye.</p>
<p>“What did Ransom do? He <i>just</i> got here. A week is too much even for you.”</p>
<p>“That's the problem,” she scrolled her shoulders, “he hangs around five days and he thinks he can say whatever he wants. What the fuck does he know? I've been in this crew long before Starkiller went <i>boom</i>. I was here from the start. I know what's happening.”</p>
<p>“Mariner...”</p>
<p>“So Ransom can shut his mouth and either get to work or fuck off.”</p>
<p>The mechanic scratched his chin. “Why, what did he say?”</p>
<p>“He's spreading shit about Commander Poe having a fling with Finn.”</p>
<p>“Ugh.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” Mariner spread her arms and spit on the ground. “And his fucking tone when he said it? Two days ago at lunch I wanted to make him eat his own teeth.”</p>
<p>Rose clenched her fists, but before she could say anything a handful of people had left their posts and had gathered around the two, each and every one of them with something to say on the matter.</p>
<p>“Can you believe that?”</p>
<p>“What's the problem though? It's true!”</p>
<p>“I hope you're joking. Just yesterday my friend Tendi from the infirmary confirmed that Finn and --“</p>
<p>Rose roared and kicked her visor, sending it flying toward the X-wing. Everyone turned around with wide eyes and their mouths dropped. She ripped off her gloves and marched outside, deaf to the people who were calling her back; the door slammed shut behind her back.</p>
<p>Every day the same damned thing. “All of them, always gossiping instead of working.” She dug her hands in her pockets. “Like we have the time!”</p>
<p>Her boots crashed on concrete with loud thuds, her ear still ringing. She wanted to get as far as possible from the hangar, and possibly also from everyone and their lousy mouths and their disgusting hearsay.</p>
<p>“I've seen Dameron and Rey hugging“ this and “Let me tell you what happens when Finn and Rey go in seclusion to train” that; again and again concocting a new story with dirty details to stay relevant in this stupid ongoing debate.</p>
<p>She bit her lip and scraped tears away from her cheeks. It was no wonder that exceptional people like Poe and Rey and Finn would end up on everyone's lips: hadn't it been for them, the Resistance wouldn't have managed to escape Crait and regroup.</p>
<p>Maybe without them there would no longer be a Resistance at all.</p>
<p>“But this is this, and that is that.” </p>
<p>The tip of her nose itched and she rubbed it with her wrist. Leaving her workplace as fast as possible, she hadn't minded her direction. Her feet had just followed the familiar path from the hangars, to the kitchen and then over the barracks, sure that at this time of day no one would be there to bother her.</p>
<p>She looked around. Right behind the laminate buildings and over the fences there was a patch of green with a natural reservoir of clean water and a bunch of trees and bushes scattered on the grass. She moved in that direction, the ground softer under her step, the sky obscured by the fronds above her head; it was peaceful, the air moist and rejuvenating. </p>
<p>She closed her eyes. A calming feeling traveled from the tip of her fingers and up her arms, then permeated her whole chest, her lungs, her back and tendons; all of her body was in a state of bliss and she allowed herself to be lulled back to tranquility, all her anger flushed away.</p>
<p>She breathed in and out, and a dim light appeared beneath her lashes, caressed her face and her ears. She looked in its direction. It came form the deepest part of the small forest, close to the fount, and she followed it.</p>
<p>A voice inside her head told her that she shouldn't be here, but Rose didn't listen; she tried to walk as quietly as possible, dodged branches, leaves and stones, and crouched behind a big oak. Settled among the roots, she stretched her neck.</p>
<p>Even though she knew what to expect, the sight was a wonder of its own.</p>
<p>Two people sat in meditation, one in front of the other, a feet or so between them and the ground, twirling of light and energy enclosing them. They were still, their expressions so peaceful Rose couldn't imagine there was any noise, any trouble in the world outside of here.</p>
<p>Finn had started to wear white. She stared at him the most: his nice features, his slender body, the way he looked so calm, so different from his usual demeanor. The first time she has seen him use the Force, she had felt as her heart has been embroiled by his power, too. No matter how clumsy he had looked, she remembered the pride the most, the wonder, the light that has blazed in his eyes.</p>
<p>He had started training with Rey immediately after, and there they were, afar from the universe, speaking in a language only they could understand.</p>
<p>Rose sunk back under the trunk and raised on her feet. She had to go. A step away, then she turned, to take a last glimpse of him.</p>
<p>Finn had opened his eyes. He and Rey were back on the ground, laughing and hopping and twirling in each other's arms. “We did it! We did it!”</p>
<p>“You did it!”</p>
<p>Rose almost laughed, too, their excitement contagious. She covered her mouth with a hand and kept looking when they stopped turning and stood in front on one another again, in silence, fingers intertwined. Their smiles were so fond Rose felt tears at the brim of her eyes.</p>
<p>Finn and Rey leaned closer and their forehead touched. They searched one other through their lashes, their smiles still mirroring each other's.</p>
<p>“We did it,” said Rey, in that language only they understood, and Rose didn't need to linger more.</p>
<p>So, <i>this</i> was the truth.</p>
<p>She retraced her steps out of the forest, down to the barracks. A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks and she allowed them, then a few more and when it was a lot more she dried her eyes and slapped her face with both hands.</p>
<p><i>Fight to protect what to love, not to destroy what you hate.</i> Finn had listened to her. At least, this was a consolation.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Temmin "Snap" Wexley</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wexley was humming a melody, one he remembered from his youth, to accompany the X-wing's landing. The aircraft dragged on the track and stopped in a cloud of dust. He smirked and jumped down from the X-wing, and regretted it immediately. His knees weren't what they used to.</p><p>“I know that song.” Rutherford fixed his bionic eye on him, while the rest of his body continued to work on the screens in front of him. The silver metal shone bright on his dark skin.</p><p>Wexley raised an eyebrow. “It's a very old song.”</p><p>“I had a very old grandma.”</p><p>“You had a very cheeky grandma!” He snorted. “Did she kiss you with that mouth?”</p><p>Rutherford threw his whole head back to look at him. “Wouldn't you like to know.”</p><p>Wexley took a short staircase and climbed the X-wing to give a pat on the chirping droid. “So, what does your screen say?”</p><p>Rutherford studied a couple of graphs. “I didn't register any anomalies. The balance seems perfect. How was flying it?”</p><p>“Like I had invited your grandma to a dance, and she ended up carrying me.”</p><p>“Great, then.”</p><p>Wexley laughed with a roar that shook him form head to toe. He unlocked the droid from the cockpit, and the little fella was brought on the ground by a couple of technicians. It rolled on the road and circled the X-ray, chirring a rather familiar tune.</p><p>He and Rutherford snickered again. “We ruined him, too.”</p><p>“Poor thing.”</p><p>As soon as he was on the ground, too, Wexley cracked his neck and stretched his back and shoulders. Flying put a lot of pressure on his spine, but being out there in the sky was his true calling; pretty basic for someone who was a pilot for a living, but sometimes reality had to be basic.</p><p>He yawned. “Do you still need me?”</p><p>Rutherford shrugged. “Nah. Granny's going back to the hangar, then I will take any other info I need from DB-45 here. If I can catch it.”</p><p>Wexley nodded. “Good lad, luck.”</p><p>“Didn't you mean: <i>good luck, lad</i>?”</p><p>“I'm a sleep deprived old man. Leave me alone.” He left with a nod to all the technicians and took the straightest way back to the barracks, ignoring the alluring call of the canteen. He didn't dare to sniff his armpits; he knew he needed a shower. And a bed. Whichever he found first.</p><p>Days on this moon could last forever. Its two suns guaranteed a forty-eight hour day and a twenty hour night, which could be convenient, but it was draining. Shifts were endless, also because everyone was in a goddamned hurry to have everything fixed, and that was the trickiest part. He understood the logic, but he also knew that sometimes things needed their physiological time to work.</p><p>He crossed the training area for shooters to reach the barracks faster. His toe hurt in the boots. He could already feel the relief of freeing his feet and dropping on a horizontal surface. A few more buildings. He repeated his id code in his head. “Eye-zero, five-eight-three.”</p><p>A sharp pain in his bunion made him cry out loud. He looked at his foot. There, a rather familiar white and orange droid lingered on the tip of his boot chirping at him with anger. <i>Ouch.</i> “My apologies BB-8, sir. I didn't see you there.”</p><p>The small droid rolled backward and hid behind la pair of white trousers. Rey stood there, and Chewbacca a few feet away. He offered a smile.</p><p>“Miss. General.”</p><p>Chewbacca wined in his direction and the girl nodded at him. With the gesture of her hand, she hurried BB-8 to stop lingering and follow her. Wexley noticed the harsh movements and the big scowl on her lips, but said nothing.</p><p>He just waved at the trio and kept walking. He massaged his neck and scratched an itchy spot. His stubble needed a shaving.</p><p>“Oh, wait, Captain!”</p><p>He turned around. Rey made two steps in his direction, hands on her hips. “Are you doing back to the sleeping quarters?”</p><p>He didn't repress a smile. “I'm trying to.”</p><p>The girl huffed through her nose. “If you see Poe, tell him to join me at the Falcon. I need him.”</p><p>He brought two fingers at his temple in a salute. “Yes, ma'am.”</p><p>“Thanks. Rest well.”</p><p>The three moved away, and he resumed his path in the opposite direction. His toe was killing him.</p><p>He had nothing against the Jedi girl. If anything, he liked her. She was both resourceful and fun to hang around, always up to the task when they needed her assistance with this and that; but he had heard the rumors, and he wasn't particularly fond of <i>those</i>.</p><p>The whole Black Squadron had had meetings about this, between a sip of ale and the drag of a cigarette. Being the closest to Commander Dameron, they were targeted with questions all day long. He didn't remember what it was like to reach the end of a loaf of bread without anyone reaching for his ear: “So is it Rey? Is it Finn? Tell us something!”</p><p>He would tell them. Generally, to fuck off and focus on not to stain the front of their uniform with sauce.</p><p>Gossip was fun, as a concept. It kept up the morale and sometimes it distracted people from the misery of their situation and the thought of their imminent death, but too much was too much. Everyone was obsessed, to the point that not even General Organa had managed to put a halt to it. They all just got smarter in evading her.</p><p>Everyone had their theories and their facts, and instead of uniting them, it was creating <i>factions</i>. Even Rutherford, being a good kid at all, refused to associate with anyone who only ever mentioned they had seen Rey and Commander Dameron being seen too close nursing after BB-8.</p><p>They got along well just because Wexley had made sure everyone understood he didn't give a flying fuck about any of this.</p><p>He hit the showers first. The pressure was shit, but it sufficed to drain some dust and dirt away from  him; their whole situation considered, they were lucky they had functioning showers at all. He slipped in a clean shirt and socks, secured his slacks with a belt and grimaced when he had to put his boots on again.</p><p>Lucky for him, the barracks were close by. He walked as fast as his aching feet allowed him to, and now that sweat had been washed off he could even enjoy the sun caressing his nape.</p><p>The barracks were a shiny heap of laminate, and he covered his eyes with a hand. “God, I'm so tired.”</p><p>He found the keypad with his fingertips, and muscle memory entered his personal code. A-0-5-8-3.</p><p>He yawned. The closer he got to the bedrooms, the more his body refused to make the simplest actions. All it focused on was being wrapped in his tiny blanket, his head sunk in his pillow.</p><p>The door opened with a gnawing sound.</p><p>When he exhausted the yawn, Wexley opened his eyes, and they stayed open.</p><p>In front of him, Commander Dameron and Finn are staring at him. Everyone blinked. They were panting, their clothes were disheveled, their hair ruffled. He searched for livid knuckles and blooming bruises, but found none.</p><p>He laughed. “Am I interrupting something or...?”</p><p>Finn and the Commander stared at each other, trembling pupils and reddened lips and cheeks.</p><p>Oh. <i>Fuck</i>.</p><p>Commander Dameron coughed and straighten his jacket – actually, wasn't that Finn's jacket? “Snap! Aren't you early.”</p><p>Wexley had done almost eight hours overtime, but didn't feel like clarifying it right about now. He wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. “Yeah, I've finished testing the X-wing with the tech guys and came back as soon as I was done...” then, he remembered, glad he could change the subject, “actually, the Rey girl was looking for you, Commander. Seemed pretty pissed to. Needs some help at the Millennium Falcon.”</p><p>The Commander jumped toward him, and he also seemed glad they could change the subject. “Yeah, right, perfect.” He fixed his hair with both of his hands and then smoothed some wrinkles away from his pants. “It must be urgent, I better go right now. Thanks. And you...” he said, turning to Finn. “You, uhm. Good job on that. Great.”</p><p>Finn's face was dark purple. “Yeah.”</p><p>“Yeah. Uh. Bye.”</p><p>He rushed away, and Wexley stood there for a few seconds, just staring at dust settling back on the ground. Then turned to Finn.</p><p>The kid looked miserable, and Wexley wished he wouldn't. <i>So, this is the truth, uh?</i></p><p>Finn opened his mouth to say something, but Wexley walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, made sure Finn felt its weight.</p><p>“It's alright, son. I know from experience that it's during arduous times like these that the strongest bonds form. There's nothing wrong with that.” He looked at him right in his eyes. “Commander Dameron is a good person, and you seem to be, too. I'm happy for you.”</p><p>Finn stuttered something and drew back from his grip. He ran for the door and disappeared in the opposite direction Commander Dameron had taken. Wexley stroked his chin.</p><p>Did he overstep?</p><p>He turned around, and saw the row of beddings going on for the whole length of the big room. Tiredness had lift from his body, and he felt as awake as he's ever been. He couldn't believe that months of harassment and inappropriate questions had eventually found their answer.</p><p>“Holy shit. I have to tell everyone.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Mob characters from previous chapters and this one were borrowed from the Star Trek: Lower Decks cartoon. Go watch it, it's amazing.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. BB-8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>BB-8 rolled in the dirt, in and out from the shadow the Millenium Falcon was casting on the ground. After two weeks under repair, offline and always stuck to the same wall, it was fun being free to move around a little bit.</p><p>He had tried playing hide and seek with Rey, but she had tolerated him only for a bunch of minutes, and lost interest soon after. She hadn't even fixed his crocked transmitter or patted his head or talked to him in that baby-voice she had taken after Poe.</p><p>He hurried a note in his memory card.</p><p><b>[</b> Rey is not happy. At BB-8??? <b>]</b></p><p>He circled a pillar and bumped into Chewbacca's calf. The Wookie whined a gentle warning in his direction, and BB-8 chirped back at him, glad at least someone was still aware he existed.</p><p>“Where the fuck is he?”</p><p>BB-8 made a one hundred eighty degree turn, body first, then head. Rey's boots appeared in his field of vision. She was digging a hole in the ground, tracing up and down the same three steps. He wanted to get closer and roll beside her, maybe make some high pitched sounds she would find adorable.</p><p>She hadn't even petted him once. He had no touch sensors, of course, so it was all the same to him, but humanoids loved to pat and scratch, and he loved the attention. But her mood and demeanor weren't inviting.</p><p><b>[</b> Rey kick BB-8? <b>]</b></p><p>She wouldn't, would she? He let out a sad tweet. Chewbacca moaned back. <i>“It's hard on her.”</i></p><p>BB-8 knew. Rey had a lot of responsibilities within the Resistance, and also according to the info-dump he had received when he returned online, some strange rumors about her had started clogging the transmission line. An average of ten messages per second downloaded in his memory, all of them encrypted, all of them about the same three topics. He had started sorting them by names, first, then relevance; then he had made a folder, and put the whole lot into the bin, to be canceled by the end of the day.</p><p>&gt; To whom it may concern, regarding the recent spam of messages concerning the private situation of Commander - - </p><p>He trashed the fifth message from General Leia, and was about to do the same to a chain mail for the whole Black Squadron by Snap Wexley titled “Finally the truth guys!!”, when his camera picked up a halt in Rey's movements and focused back on her.</p><p>He looked at her upside down, hands on hips and frustrated expression. He made a move to get close when a familiar voice entered his hearing field.</p><p>“What's the hurry? You better had found a bomb for making me run all the way here!”</p><p>BB-8 snapped to the right and let out a loud chirp.</p><p><b>[</b> Poe! <b>]</b> </p><p>He rushed in the dirt and halted on Poe's foot, who let out a laugh and crouched to scrap at his outer layer with his knuckles. “There you are,” he was saying, “I missed you buddy. Did you behave? Are you all good to go? Who's a good droid?” and similar nonsense.</p><p>Oh, finally someone who loved him right.</p><p>Rey butted in: “Stop with that and move. After your atrocious landing last week, Chewie noticed the shields are malfunctioning. So come and help us out.”</p><p>Poe got back on his feet and walked toward her. BB-8 tried his best to stick to his leg. “What does my landing have to do with the shields?”</p><p>Rey was halfway the ramp to the Falcon's entrance. “Ask me again when you understand that <i>landing</i> and <i>smashing aircrafts to the ground and call it a day</i> are two different things.”</p><p>Chewbacca roared a laugh and Poe didn't answer.</p><p><b>[</b> Point for Rey. Total: Rey 153, Poe 16. <b>]</b></p><p>They all entered the control room and immediately got to work. BB-8 rolled from one side to the other whenever someone needed assistance with a tool or a light or a string of codes. He gave Poe the wrench he's asked and the following moment he was already reached Chewbacca in the back. He was working with some live cables, and BB-8 offered assistance while Chewbacca used his big hands to check on some parameters.</p><p>Poe's voice emerged from the cockpit: “I think I got it!” They all turned their heads in his direction, and Poe added: “Rey, while BB-8 keeps up the tension, you crawl down here and see what happens while I work the shields.”</p><p>Rey emerged from whatever vent she was working on, hands on her hips. Her voice had softened, but still wasn't as friendly: “And you can't do that because?”</p><p>“Because otherwise I can't stare at your butt while you do it.”</p><p>BB-8's sensors lighted up, red and white dots reflected on the walls and next to him Chewbacca made the most strangled noise. Then, BB-8 did the only sensible thing he could think of in this scenario: he switched on the camera.</p><p>If a murder had to take place, he'd need footage.</p><p>His point of view was low, but when he inclined the thin arm he was able to get both of them in the screen, and started recording.</p><p>In his notes, he wrote:</p><p><b>[</b> Poe said <b>]</b> and wrote down the script. Then added: <b>[</b> Rey was provoked. It was within self defense. <b>]</b></p><p>Of course, once on trial, he would testify in her favor. It was really the least he could do.</p><p>If BB-8 had breath, he would be holding it in his lungs, and if Chewbacca had visible skin, it would be purple by now. </p><p>They stood motionless and waited for the violent reaction that promised to arise, waited for Rey to grab her stick, or to slam a fist on Poe's head, or to use the force to throw him through the windshield.</p><p>Rey scoffed, and then said: “You idiot.” Her voice almost sounded fond. BB-8 made another note to check on his microphones when back.</p><p>She got on all four and crawled under the controls, stretching her back. “Okay, I got it. You can start.”</p><p>Poe hummed, but didn't move. He curved his head, his stare fixed where Rey's back emerged from under the panel. BB-8 still had a job to do, and a report to make: had he been free to move, he would slam against Poe's leg, made him fall backwards. A good hit over his skull was probably much needed.</p><p>Poe stared for a couple more seconds, then moved over the controls. He activated the shields, and after a shy start they started working full force once again. Poe and Rey tried a couple more times, and then Chewbacca released BB-8, fixing the cables back in their socket.</p><p>BB-8 chirped and hurried in the cockpit. At the same time, Rey emerged from under the panels. Chewbacca lingered in the door frame, all of them staring. </p><p>Would the murder take place now?</p><p>“It's fixed now,” Poe said, and leaned in to offer Rey a hand, but she didn't take it. She rose on her own and removed dust from her chest. She looked at all three of them with a solemn expression and then fixed her eyes on Poe.</p><p>“We have anther problem.”</p><p>BB-8 registered Poe's gulp in his video. “What--”</p><p>“There's a bomb on board.”</p><p>The audio track fell flat. No one dared make a sound. A couple seconds later, a small laugh from Poe made the line spike.</p><p>“Ah-ah, nice one...”</p><p>BB-8's sensors fixed on Rey. Her breath and heartbeat were steady, deep and regular. No indicator showed the signs of a lie.</p><p>Poe and Chewbacca arrived to the same conclusion, and their voices boomed in BB-8 speakers.</p><p>“What the fuck? What bomb? BB-8, go get someone!”</p><p>Chewbacca almost fell to make him way and BB-8 turned and rolled away at maximum speed. He was already sending off a signal when his camera picked up more noise in the cockpit.</p><p>“Your butt,” Rey's voice said, and BB-8 stop dead on his tracks. In his camera, Poe had tried to launch himself toward the threat, but Rey had stopped him, a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Your butt,” she repeated, in a louder voice. “Your butt's the bomb.”</p><p>The blasphemy from Chewbacca didn't need any translation, and Poe's stupor turned into a laugh that shook the whole Milennium Falcon. In front of him, Rey's smile was as bright as it has ever been.</p><p>BB-8 completed the registration and retracted the camera. He went fishing for a folder in his bin, and resumed it, reading most of its content in a handful of seconds. He skimmed the text for keywords, and in a minute or so the whole Resistance Feud had assumed new contours. </p><p>It wasn't all gossip and rubbish. There was a truth to it. He made a new folder, named it “Evidence” and store all relevant content inside. Then, he send it out to everyone. This was a real surprise. And he had footage to prove it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"Your butt's the bomb" was borrowed from Brooklyn 99 episode 5x22. Go watch Brooklyn 99.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Kylo Ren</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The aftermath of the battle shattered in the vast blackness in a burst of red and silver. Only a few of the Besnian ships and aircrafts remained intact and they were all lined up in the Supremacy tractor beams to be collected and scrutinized. All useful parts would be used to implement their own machinery, the rest destroyed.</p><p>In the end, their victory had been absolute. This brought him a step closer to his goal, but a weight in his stomach made it hard to rejoice.</p><p>Kylo Ren flexed his hand and rubbed his temple with his index and middle fingers, the rich leather soft against his skin. In front of him, a dozen napes were busy with screens and sensors, and pieces of information traveled up and down the bridge carried by word or thought. Sometime it was difficult to understand the difference between the two, but these people didn't need to know that.</p><p>Yet, noise was still noise, whether it came from mouth or mind. He had long since understood why Snoke choose to appear only by hologram and avoided the troops as much as he could: their clogged chatter, mixed with their stink of fear, was enough to grate him beyond his tolerance.</p><p>"Are you unwell, Supreme Leader?"</p><p>Kylo Ren closed his fingers in a fist and looked at his right. Hux was standing there, with his arms folded behind his back and a smirk lurking in the deepest corner of his mind.</p><p>"May I suggest you take some rest? The battle is won, and the Besnians' surrender is due in a few ticks, you don't need to wait on it yourself."</p><p>Kylo Ren gritted his teeth and looked away. <i>As if</i>. He wasn't going to let this treacherous prick roam unsupervised any more than he needed to. Hux had sworn loyalty to him, as had all the highest-ranking officials of the First Order, but he could never be too careful.</p><p>"No need."</p><p>"As you wish, Supreme Leader."</p><p>His honeyed tone made Kylo Ren want to raise his hand and slam him against the nearest wall. <i>You lying piece of shit.</i></p><p>He pushed Hux's smug demeanor away from his mind. He just had to focus to the subject at hand. The Besnian Parliament was in shambles, and with their fleet decimated it was only a matter of time before they offered their unconditional surrender. </p><p>With the tip of his fingers he tapped his thigh under his cloak. <i>If they would just hurry the fuck...</i></p><p>His train of thought was interrupted by a surge of anxiety and fret. Something had come through the notification channel, and in the span of a second officers were throwing glances at each other, one or two had left their posts and a woman in the first row was trampling on her hat. When he heard a notification from his own data pad the whole thing was already out of control.</p><p>
  <i>“Holy shit, now what?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Wait. Didn't we cleared this up like a week ago?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“It's a fake! It's dubbed! That's not even what she's saying!”</i>
</p><p>A flood of whispers and thoughts erupted between his ears, and panic surged from his gust. <i>Oh, no.</i> </p><p>Kylo Ren reached in his pocket and fished out the data pad. A huge file had been decrypted and he saw bits and pieces from it. Lines of text, a bunch of photos, then a short video in a shit resolution that had been edited and compressed.</p><p>
  <i>Not this crap again!</i>
</p><p>The latest month had been a nightmare. Repairs on the Supremacy had taken twice the estimated time, and they had made no progress in finding out where the Resistance had disappeared to. Over thirty days, and the only kind of information they were able to gathered was about Rey and Dameron and the traitor and whatever it was that was going on with them.</p><p>Another <i>ping</i> on his data pad, followed by more of the same bullshit. The noise coming from the officials had grown at a fast pace.</p><p>
  <i>“Didn't Eight-Seven save that Resistance pilot because they were having an affair?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Ah ah. Now you all will stop saying us <i>Damereys</i> are just seeing things.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Poor Finn...”</i>
</p><p>“Silence!” This was the last straw. </p><p>When Kylo Ren stomped his foot on the ground and activated his saber, the whole bridge quieted down as one, scared glares and thoughts crashed upon him. Although it made him nauseous, he ignored all of them and turned to his right, his free hand raised.</p><p>“I know this was you!”</p><p>He planted a finger between Hux's eyes, and the damned weasel only arched a brow at him. Kylo Ren swallowed foam that was about to erupt from his mouth.</p><p>Hux then leaned in toward him and lowered his voice to a whisper, his expression soft: “Easy, Ren. We can't be heard squabbling in front of the crew. Let's talk about this after the Besnian's surrender is finalized, maybe in your personal chambers at the end of the shift?” </p><p>“Go to hell!”</p><p>He stormed out of the bridge without looking back. He couldn't see him, but he knew the bastard was laughing.</p><p>The corridor echoed with his steps, the tip of the saber scraped the floor with a sizzle, and any pilot or technician or official he crossed smeared themselves on the walls to get out of his way. His scar was burning, and he covered it with his hand. </p><p>Not a day had passed that a stupid note would pop up on his data pad with the most daft, useless information anyone could gather: nothing about war plans, chains of supply or any indication to where the rebels had stationed their hideout, just baseless chatter that only managed to distract everyone on board.</p><p>Where they all morons? Did they think he hadn't realized, that he couldn't see all of them joining and leaving factions after the umpteenth message came through, or an audio cut in half or a video that could be anything?</p><p>All of them too busy crossing each other instead of focus on their jobs, fight in the dormitories at any hour, and people were also starting to give themselves <i>names</i> in accordance to their clique: there you had the Finnreys, and the Damereys and the Stormpilots.</p><p>What in the everlasting <i>fuck</i> was a "Stormpilot"?!</p><p>He didn't even need to search for the culprit. No one would be stupid enough to forward him this kind of rubbish; not unless someone prompted them to.</p><p>This was all Hux, there was no doubt. Kylo Ren could easily imagine how the dirty rat also encouraged the chatter and had a great time while doing it.</p><p>
  <i>So are these your capable soldiers, your exceptionally trained men, programmed from birth or whatever?</i>
</p><p>His head was split in two. There seemed to be no way to make them stop, not unless they got to the source of it.</p><p>Kylo Ren walked past three technicians bent over a screen they hurried to hide, turned a corner, and then stopped in the middle of a junction, his eyes widened. Right in front of him, standing on the cold metal surface of his ship, Rey was looking him up and down, a hand at her belt. “Not now...”</p><p>“<i>You!</i>”</p><p>She rubbed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Let's make this quick,” she sighted. “I'm not telling where we are and I'm not joining your side. If you have something else to say just say it and let's get it over and done with. I've had a long day.”</p><p>“<i>You</i> had a long day?” A bunch of capillaries exploded in his right eye and he actually <i>shrilled</i>. “You can't even... You don't have any idea what I've been through, day after day among these people and their idiotic quarrels. All I want to do is finish what Darth Vader started and bring order to the Galaxy, but I can't, because none of these idiots take their job seriously, and all day every day I am submerged with idiotic crap and gossip and hearsay and whatnot!”</p><p>“Right. And you're telling me all of this because?”</p><p>“Because it's your fault!” He pointed a finger at her. “Yours, and your stupid allies and your stupid encrypted data. Is this a joke? Are you mocking me?”</p><p>His hair fell over his eyes and burning face, and it fluttered around with every word coming out of his mouth. Rey took a step back. “You know what, I don't care. I'm leaving.”</p><p>“No, you're not! Let's settle this once and for all! <i>Who are you sleeping with</i>?”</p><p>She struck before he could even think to shield himself. The shock wave hit him right in the face, his septum shattered under the pressure and he was pushed on his back, sprawled all over the tile floor.</p><p>When he opened his eyes, there was only blackness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Rey</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“<i>Who are you sleeping with?</i>”</p><p>Rey threw a punch. Her knuckles met bones, and Kylo Ren was sent flying. He slid through the ground without raising a speck of dust, his legs in the air and his saber lost from his grip. A few seconds, and he disappeared too, the connection broken.</p><p>She panted, her muscles still tight. His crazed out expression and shrieking voice echoed in her ears and eyes.</p><p>
  <i>What the fuck?</i>
</p><p>Anger boiled in her chest along with disbelief. When he had appeared out of nowhere she had expected    just more of the same: that he would try to make her reveal their position and plans, or maybe that he was still bent into wanting her to join him. This, she could have handled. But where did all that come from?</p><p>At a point she had even thought he would burst into tears or something.</p><p>“Rey, babe, you okay?”</p><p>Rey blinked. From the same exact spot Kylo Ren had disappeared to, Poe and Finn emerged side by side. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even heard them call her the first time.</p><p>“Guys...”</p><p>“Why were you punching the air?”</p><p>She was still tense, her fist a few centimeters from Finn's nose. Warmth surged in her cheeks and she retracted the arm and left it dangling at her side. She moved a bit of dust with her foot.</p><p>“I just...” <i>Don't know where to start?</i> It was so absurd she wasn't sure she had already managed to wrap her head around what had just happened. She shrugged. “I just needed to vent some frustration. It's been a weird day.”</p><p>Finn and Poe shared a look. Both of them smiled.</p><p>“It's okay now, you can relax.”</p><p>“We'll take care of everything.”</p><p>They walked closer, their presence formed a hug around her, and Rey's nerves and edges softened. She took the arm Poe offered, let her head rest on Finn's shoulder; all three lined up, it was easy to fall in a synced step, no one else nowhere to be seen. </p><p>Their voices filled her ears and heart, her skin prickled against theirs. She felt good, like this, safe. In the dying light of day, she could almost believe it was just them in the whole galaxy, that nothing else mattered.</p><p>Later, when she'd found the words to explain what happened, they would have laughed themselves until their breath and chests hurts.</p><p>“That guy is crazy! In times like these, who the hell would even care who you sleep with?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Hope you had fun with this! :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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